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Red Waterfall

CHALLENGE 3

I
feel my eyes flutter open, but all I see is darkness. I sit up, feeling
my surroundings with my hands. The ground is moist, as well as the air.
Is that.. are those leaves? I blink blindly a few times, and my eyes
adjust. I am in a forest. I stand up, and realize I am barefoot. Both my
trousers and my shirt are baggy and torn at the edges.

What is this
place? How did I even end up in a forest? I picked my mind for any
detail, and became increasingly frightened as I realized I remember
nothing. Not even my own name. I felt my heart pounding in my ears as I
cussed in frustration.

I
jumped as a treetop above my head rustled. It was so silent. Normally,
in forests, there are supposed to be insects, or birds, chirping away.
But here? Nothing. Not a single sound.

But then what was it that rustled the treetop?

I
let out a small scream as another treetop rustled, this time a little
further away from me. My scream echoes. My breathing begins to
accelerate, and despite all my instincts - I start walking towards that
second rustle. I just have to find out something.

The rustling continues to move around in the trees, faster, and faster, so fast I have to run in order to keep up with it.

And
then I stumble into a clearing. There are a few patches of grass and
weeds here and there, but no trees. I slowly walk to the center of the
round clearing, hearing nothing but my footsteps, my shallow breaths,
and my heartbeat. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. Maybe I should have
gotten as far away from the rustling as possible, and never looked back.
I spot a branch on the edge of the clearing. It must have fallen down
from one of the trees. I quickly walk over there and bend down to pick
it up. I lift it, using both hands. It's large, but not too large. I
hold it like a baseball player about to swing.

Boomf, I hear a voice from behind me. I spin around instantly, now brandishing the branch before me like a sword.

The
sight before me sends a gasp down my throat and my eyes open wide. It
was a creature. I look in terror as it edges forwards, like a vulture
nearing it's prey. It's a pterodactyl. The most gruesome and disturbing
thing I have seen in my life. It's bony wings folded aside his scaly
body, and it's elongated bill covered with blood. It lifts it's head up,
and lets out a long, bone-rattling screech that feels like it would
explode my skull any second.

I
snap out of my paralyzed trance and lift the branch above my head,
yelling as I run towards the pterodactyl. I manage to hit him square on
the head, but not hard enough. It seems to make the beast angry, and it
spreads it's wings and takes off. I look up in agitated terror, lifting
my branch again, as it circles once, twice, and then dives right at
where I stood.

It's
claws sear against my shoulder as I only just manage to escape. I start
running again, back into the forest. I had dropped the branch when I
dived to escape the pterodactyl.

I
hear another screech, even more terrifying than the first, and grab
hold of the fist loose thing I find. Another branch. Thicker, but
shorter. It's heavier than the first one. I hear the pterodactyl's wings
behind me, and I turn around, throwing the branch with all my force at
where I hoped it would be.

As
I swing the branch, I feel a searing pain in my shoulder, where the
pterodactyl had injured me. But despite that, the branch still finds
it's target. I just manage to see the pterodactyl's skull being crushed
between the branch and the bark of a tree. It drops to the ground,
crumpled over itself, blood and bone and brain oozing out of it's head. I
stare at it for a while, but the throbbing in my shoulder forces me to
look away.

I
wince as I see how much blood soaks the left side of my shirt. I take
my shirt off, and press a clean(er) part of it to the wound. I have to
find water. I'd hate to be stuck on this damned place with an infected
shoulder, not to mention with no food and water.